Luca Urbani (born 11 May 1957 in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
) is a former
ASI astronaut and was assigned as an alternate payload specialist for mission
STS-78.
Personal
Born in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, Italy. He now resides in
Rieti, Italy. Married to Cinzia Naccari of
Senago
Senago ( lmo, Senagh ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about north of Milan. As of 30 November 2017, it had a population of 21.519 and an area of .All demographics and other ...
(
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
), Italy. They have two sons. Recreational interests include flying (he is a licensed private pilot of airplanes, gliders and ultralights, with about 2,850 hours logged in gliders and single-engine airplanes); gliding (at a competitive level: seven times Italian Gliding Champion in different classes); horseback-riding; skiing; tennis. He is also a licensed amateur radio operator.
Education
Graduated from
Liceo scientifico "M. Massimo" in Rome in 1975. Received a Doctor of Medicine Degree from the University of Rome "
La Sapienza
The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a public research university located in Rome, Ita ...
" Medical School in 1981 (Summa cum Laude). Completed residencies in Otorhinolaryngology at the University of Rome "La Sapienza" in 1984 (Summa cum Laude) and in Audiological Medicine at the
University of Naples
The University of Naples Federico II ( it, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II) is a public university in Naples, Italy. Founded in 1224, it is the oldest public non-sectarian university in the world, and is now organized into 26 depar ...
in 1989.
Organizations
Member of: the Aviation Medicine Committee of the Italian Aero Club; the Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA), U.S.; the Italian Aerospace Medical Association (AIMAS); the Italian Group on Eye Movements (GIMO); the European Low Gravity Research Association (ELGRA; associate member); the Aerospace Physiology Society, U.S.; the Italian Chronobiology Society.
Publications
He has over 50 publications (full papers and abstracts), mostly in the areas of auditory and vestibular pathophysiology and of aerospace physiology and medicine.
Awards and honors
International FAI (
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale)
Diamond Badge for Gliding (1985);
Italian National Olympic Committee
The Italian National Olympic Committee ( it, Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano, CONI), founded in 1914 and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is responsible for the development and management of sports activity in Italy. ...
Bronze Medal for Sports Merit (for Gliding: 1989 and 1995);
Italian Air Force
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 28 March ...
Long Service Medal (1994).
Career
In 1983–1984, Urbani served as medical officer of the Italian Army, Medical Corps (2nd lieutenant). Since 1985, he has been serving as medical officer in the Italian Air Force, Medical Corps. In 1985–1987 he was chief of the Medical Service, Vigna di Valle AFB, Rome. Since the late 1987, he has been assigned as a research medical officer at D.A.S.R.S.-Department of Aerospace Medicine,
Pratica di Mare AFB, Rome, where his last position has been chief of the Audio-Vestibular Section. His current rank is lieutenant colonel. He qualified as flight surgeon at the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine,
Brooks AFB
Brooks Air Force Base was a United States Air Force facility located in San Antonio, Texas, southeast of Downtown San Antonio.
In 2002, Brooks Air Force Base was renamed Brooks City-Base when the property was conveyed to the Brooks Developmen ...
, Texas, where he was the top graduate of the 1989 AAMIMO Course (Advanced Aerospace Medicine for International Medical Officers ). From 1991 to the present, he has held an appointment as instructor of "Aerospace Physiological Techniques" at the Residency Program of Aerospace Medicine, University of Rome "La Sapienza." From 1993 to 1995, he has held an appointment as instructor of "Aerospace Medicine" at the Courses for Air Force Medical Officers, Italian Air Force Health School, Rome.
In 1991, Urbani was selected by the
Italian Space Agency
The Italian Space Agency ( it, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana; ASI) is a government agency established in 1988 to fund, regulate and coordinate space exploration activities in Italy. The agency cooperates with numerous national and international enti ...
(ASI) as one of the five Italian astronaut candidates for the last
European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut selection. Eventually, he participated in the ESA selection and was one of the two Italians retained in the group of candidates considered by ESA for the final selection.
In 1992, he participated in the ESA project "EXEMSI'92" (Experimental Campaign for the European Manned Space Infrastructure, performed at
DLR,
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
, Germany) as a member of the EXPET (Experimental Programme Execution Team) and as Principal Investigator of the experiment "Oculomotor Performance during Prolonged Isolation," one of the physiological experiments carried out within the project.
In February 1994, he took part as crew member in the CUS'94 Campaign (
Columbus Utilisation Simulation), ESA simulation of a long-term mission increment performed at the Columbus mockup in
ESTEC
The European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) is the European Space Agency's main technology development and test centre for spacecraft and space technology. It is situated in Noordwijk, South Holland, in the western Netherlands, alt ...
,
Noordwijk
Noordwijk () is a town and municipality in the west of the Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of of which is water and had a population of in .
On 1 January 2019, the former municipality of Noordwij ...
,
The Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
.
NASA career
Following candidature by the Italian Space Agency, Urbani was selected by the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in May 1995 as an alternate
Payload Specialist for the Life and Microgravity
Spacelab
Spacelab was a reusable laboratory developed by European Space Agency (ESA) and used on certain spaceflights flown by the Space Shuttle. The laboratory comprised multiple components, including a pressurized module, an unpressurized carrier, ...
(LMS) mission,
STS-78, and began training for the flight duties of a Payload Specialist Astronaut at the
Johnson Space Center in
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
. LMS was an international research mission scheduled for flight in June 1996 aboard the
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program ...
Columbia. During the mission, Urbani acted as Crew Interface Coordinator in the Payload Operations Control Center at the
Marshall Space Flight Center in
Huntsville.
Sources
''This biography has been taken from th
Astronautixweb site, which was itself a cut and paste of the official NASA JSC astronaut bio from June 1996 which has, since then, been removed from the NASA site and archived.''
partial extract of NASA bio
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Urbani, Luca
1957 births
Living people
Italian astronauts